The Golem and the Dancing Girl (lost German silent film; 1917)

The Golem and the Dancing Girl is a German silent film from 1917 that parodies the previous 1915 horror film The Golem. Like the original film, it was written, co-directed by, and starred Paul Wegener.

Contents

Plot

According to a French website[1], the film told the story of Helga (Salmonova), a "paid dancer" (slang for prostitute) who is attending a stageplay adaptation of Wegener's The Golem. Wegener (playing himself as the creature) overhears her professing her love for him and revealing the fact that she keeps a life-sized statue of the character in her apartment. Filled with amorous thoughts, Wegener then bribes himself into Helga's apartment while still in costume, hides the statue in her closet and stands still in its place, awaiting her arrival. When Helga finally does come home, she pours her heart out to the apparent statue, only to have it, to her surprise, come to life. However, just as they are about to have sexual intercourse, another "customer" of Helga's arrived and is frightened by the supposed Golem.

Availability

The film is completely lost and hasn't been seen for many years. All that has been found is the cast list, a poster, and a still photograph. However, Silent Era claims that a print of it may exist in an eastern European film archive.[2]